Gardening jobs for July
With its long, sunny days, July is a prime time for tending to the garden. From sowing last batches of seed for this season to helping established plants look their best, here are some jobs for this month:
Keep sowing!
Warm July temperatures mean that seeds should germinate quickly outdoors, so there are still plenty of flower and veg varieties that you can start off now for harvesting this season. Quick maturing crops such as French beans, carrots, salad crops and radish, such as the White Icicle variety we include in our July boxes can be sown now for harvesting in late-summer/early-autumn. And if you have young courgette, pumpkin or sweetcorn plants in pots, these should go into the ground now to ensure they have time to produce fruit before autumn.
Why not plan ahead for next year’s flowers and sow some biennial flower seeds? A biennial plant is one that completes in lifecycle in two seasons, producing only leaves in its first year, and flowering, setting seed and then dying in its second year. Foxgloves, sweet rocket, and honesty are all beautiful, long flowering varieties which are fantastic for pollinators too!
Be water-wise
Install water butts or tanks to catch runoff from roofs, sheds, and greenhouses to ensure a steady supply of water without increasing your water bill.
To minimize evaporation, water your plants in the early morning or late evening.
Instead of watering the entire garden, learn to spot which plants need attention by looking for signs of wilting.
Choose drought tolerant plants for your garden which, as well as requiring less water are also generally hardy and low-maintenance and will thrive without much attention.
Apply mulch, such as compost or bark chippings, around your plants to help retain soil moisture and reduce the need for frequent watering.
Enjoy your garden!
While there’s plenty to do this month, remember to take some time to relax and enjoy being in the garden with your children. Get them involved in harvesting fruit and veg, picking and smelling flowers and spotting all the different wildlife that love to visit your outside space.
You could also take part in Big Butterfly Count in July. This citizen science project helps track the health of our butterfly populations and provides valuable data for conservation efforts. And if you would like to encourage more butterflies into your garden, take a look at our blog about how to encourage butterflies into your garden for some practical tips.
Author: Alison Kenehan, RHS-qualified gardener and mother
If you’d like to receive regular gardening activities for children alongside nature craft activities, subscribe below to receive a monthly Mud & Bloom box! Each monthly Mud & Bloom box contains two lots of seeds or bulbs to plant and at least two nature craft activities. Or for gardening only activities have a look at our monthly Gardening Box!